Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!rochester!rit!ultb!clf3678
From: clf3678@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.L. Freemesser)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: floppy disk-change (again)
Summary: Pesky disk change problems
Message-ID: <2580@ultb.isc.rit.edu>
Date: 27 Mar 90 01:46:42 GMT
References: <1990Mar24.192858.1655@ns.network.com>
Reply-To: clf3678@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.L. Freemesser)
Organization: Information Systems and Computing @ RIT, Rochester, New York
Lines: 33

In article <1990Mar24.192858.1655@ns.network.com> logajan@ns.network.com (John Logajan) writes:
>From time to time I've seen mention of replacement floppy drives not indicating
>disk change status.  Since I've had a replacement drive for longer than my
>human memory works, I don't recall if the original could really detect disk
>change status either.
>

There are a number of things you can do to solve the disk change
problem.  First off, try running a jumper between pins 2 and 28 on the
drive's connector.  For many drives, this will give you the needed
signals for regular media changes.

If that doesn't work because when the jumper is hooked up, you get a
write protect error, use a momentarily closed button.  Run the wires of
the button to pins 2 and 28, and hold the button in when inserting a
disk.  This will give the computer the media change signals, but will
remove the write protect errors when the button is released.

More elegant solutions to this are:

1) Get TOS 1.4:  it fixes all the problems be re-reading the disk on
   every access.
2) A program called FMC.PRG will force media detects, basically doing
   what TOS 1.4 does.  However, it doesn't seem to be 100% operational.

Considering you can set up your own drive for 40% of a "real drive",
the money saved more than offsets the potential troubles you'll have.


Chris Freemesser, Rochester Institute of Technology (  THE ACORN BBS
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